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Essay On Liberalism In Singapore

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Since the birth of the tiny republic of Singapore in 1965, we have not seen an attack by our neighbours. This paper intends to discuss two theories in international relations in explaining this fortunate situation. In terms of Realism, I make an argument about Singapore 's use of military deterrence against invasion, displaying both Singapore 's internal and external military capabilities. I also consider the Liberalism theory, uncovering the complex interdependence between Singapore and Malaysia first regionally and then specifically between the two states - physically, socially, and politically. Subsequently, I evaluate the two theories in order to conclude that the combination of theories best explains the lack of invasion of Singapore by …show more content…

It would simply be more useful to pursue "warm" peace and close ties in order to deal with these problems. This can include issues like the dangerous spread of diseases and the threat of international terrorism and religious extremism. One example would be the joint effort between Singapore and Malaysia in capturing terrorist suspect Mas Selamat bin Kastari after he escaped from a detention centre in Singapore. The supposed head of the Singaporean section of terrorist group Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), was found to be hiding in across the border in Malaysia and was promptly handed over to Singapore after his capture by the Malaysian Special Branch. The search for Mas Selamat is said to be "one of Singapore 's largest manhunts". (Government of Singapore, 2009) Without close collaboration between the two states, the chances of Singapore ever locating him would have been reduced. Obviously, Malaysia had a vested interest in assisting Singapore, for the escape of the suspected terrorist threatened their security too. Cross-border problems causes common goals that would be by far easier to attain and resolve through cooperation. Since it would be useful to make more friends than enemies, maintaining relationships with and sovereignty of neighbouring nations serve more pragmatic purposes for both

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